Fire hits Egypt's national theater

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A fire destroyed the main hall of Egypt's National Theater in the heart of the downtown Cairo Saturday, wounding three firefighters, a civil defense officer said. Billowing white smoke filled the busy Ataba Square just after sunset as 22 engines responded to the alarms. Dozens of riot police also deployed to keep back onlookers. A major general with the civil defense on the scene described the fire as "almost contained," after high winds briefly drove flames into neighboring shops and buildings. Three firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Brig. Gen. Nasr Zakaria of the civil defense operations room told the state MENA news agency that the fire began with an electrical short that caused an explosion in the theater's air conditioning system.